Aja Naomi King (; born January 11, 1985) is an American actress. She played Michaela Pratt in ''

How to Get Away with Murder ''How to Get Away with Murder'' is an American legal thriller television series that premiered on ABC on September 25, 2014, and concluded on May 14, 2020. The series was created by Peter Nowalk, and produced by Shonda Rhimes and ABC Studios ...

''. She began her career in guest-starring roles on television, and starred as Cassandra Kopelson in

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

medical comedy-drama ''

Emily Owens, M.D. ''Emily Owens, M.D.'' is an American medical drama television series created by Jennie Snyder Urman. It was picked up by The CW on May 11, 2012. It premiered on The CW on October 16, 2012, and aired on Tuesdays at 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm Central. ...

'' In 2014, King began starring as Michaela Pratt in the ABC legal drama series ''How to Get Away with Murder'', for which she received an

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series This page lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. The award was first given during the 1996 ceremony. Since its inception, Loretta Devine holds the record for the most wins with ...

nomination in 2015. She also has starred in the films ''

Four 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest ...

'' (2012) and '' Reversion'' (2015). In 2016, she portrayed

Cherry Turner Cherry Turner (also spelled "Chary") was an enslaved American Indian in Southampton, Virginia in the early 1800s. She was the wife of slave activist, Nat Turner. Early life In the year 1831, Cherry was believed to be about 10 years old. She w ...

in the historical film ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...

'' (2016) and the following year appeared in the comedy-drama ''

The Upside ''The Upside'' is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed by Neil Burger, written by Jon Hartmere. It is a remake of the French 2011 film '' The Intouchables'', which was itself inspired by the lives of Abdel Sallou and Philippe Pozzo di Borg ...

'' (2017).

Early life

King was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and grew up in

Walnut, California Walnut is a city in the eastern part of Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 29,172, and in 2019 the population was estimated at 29,685. The greater Walnut Valley is located betw ...

. She received a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachel ...

in Acting from the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

, and a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

's School of Drama in 2010. At Yale University, King performed in a number of productions, including ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict a ...

'', ''

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * ''The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (film), a 1986 film adaptati ...

'', and '' Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes''.

Career

2010–2013

King appeared in several short films in the early period of her career. She made her television debut in 2010, as a guest star in the CBS police procedural '' Blue Bloods'', and later appeared on ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no le ...

'', ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily s ...

'' and '' Deadbeat''. She made her feature film debut in the 2011 independent film ''

Damsels in Distress The damsel in distress is a recurring narrative device in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has either been kidnapped or placed in general peril. Kinship, love, or lust (or a combination of those) gives the male protagonist the motiv ...

'', as a minor character. Her big break came in 2012, when she was cast as new surgical intern Cassandra Kopelson and the series' primary antagonist, on the CW medical comedy-drama series ''

'' The series was canceled after a single season in 2013. She later starred in the

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

comedy pilot ''The Onion Presents: The News''. In 2013, King co-starred in two independent films. She played Abigayle, the daughter of

Wendell Pierce Wendell Edward Pierce (born December 8, 1963) is an American actor and businessman. Having trained at Juilliard School, Pierce rose to prominence as a character actor portraying roles both on the stage and screen. He first gained notoriety portra ...

's character, in the independent drama ''

'', released on September 13, 2013. Along with her castmates, she won a

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, epis ...

Award for Best Performance by Cast for her role in this movie. She also appeared alongside

Laverne Cox Laverne Cox (born May 29, 1972) is an American actress and LGBT advocate. She rose to prominence with her role as Sophia Burset on the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black'', becoming the first transgender person to be nominated for a Pr ...

and

Britne Oldford Britne Oldford (born July 23, 1992) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for portraying Cadie Campbell on '' Skins'', Alma Walker on '' American Horror Story: Asylum'', Remy Beaumont on '' Ravenswood'', Regan on '' Hunters'', and as Fei Harg ...

in the film '' 36 Saints''. In 2014, she had supporting role in the romantic comedy ''

The Rewrite ''The Rewrite'' is a 2014 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence. It stars Hugh Grant as a washed-up screenwriter who begins teaching at Binghamton University, and Marisa Tomei as a single mother with whom the screenw ...

'', starring

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...

and

Marisa Tomei Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She came to prominence as a cast member on '' The Cosby Show'' spin-off '' A Different World'' in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international attentio ...

. The film was shot in 2013 but was released theatrically in the United States in 2015.

2014–present: Breakthrough

In early 2014, King had a recurring role as Ali Henslee in the ABC medical drama series ''

Black Box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

'', starring

Kelly Reilly Jessica Kelly Siobhán Reilly (born 18 July 1977) is an English actress. She first appeared on screen in 1995 on the series '' The Biz''. Her other television work includes starring roles in the British crime drama '' Above Suspicion'' (2009– ...

. The series was canceled after a single season. In February 2014, she was cast as one of the main characters in the ABC legal thriller ''

'', produced by

Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television screenwriter, producer, and author. She is best known as the showrunner—creator, head writer, and executive producer—of the television medical drama '' Grey's Anatomy'', ...

. The series stars

Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...

as a law professor

Annalise Keating Annalise Keating Esq. (née Anna-Mae Harkness) is a fictional character in the legal drama series '' How to Get Away with Murder''. Series creator Peter Nowalk is responsible for creating and developing the character, and American actress Viola ...

. King plays the role of Michaela Pratt, one of the five lead students, alongside

Alfred Enoch Alfred Lewis Enoch (born 2 December 1988) is an English actor, best known for playing Dean Thomas in the ''Harry Potter'' film series and Wes Gibbins in the ABC legal thriller television series ''How to Get Away with Murder''. Early life and ...

, Jack Falahee,

Matt McGorry Matthew David McGorry (born April 12, 1986) is an American actor, writer and activist. He is best known for playing John Bennett on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' and Asher Millstone on the ABC legal drama series ...

, and Karla Souza. The series premiered on September 25, 2014 with generally positive reviews from critics, and 14 million viewers. King received her first

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

nomination for her performance in series. In 2015, King had her first the leading role in the science-fiction thriller '' Reversion''. The film had limited theatrical release on October 9, 2015. Also in 2015, she was cast as the female lead in the historical drama film ''

'', based on the story of the 1831 slave rebellion led by

Nat Turner Nat Turner's Rebellion, historically known as the Southampton Insurrection, was a rebellion of enslaved Virginians that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831.Schwarz, Frederic D.1831 Nat Turner's Rebellion" ''American Heri ...

. The film also stars

Nate Parker Nate Parker (born November 18, 1979) is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. He has appeared in '' Beyond the Lights'', '' Red Tails'', '' The Secret Life of Bees'', '' The Great Debaters'', ''Arbitrage'', ''Non-Stop'', ' ...

Aunjanue Ellis Aunjanue L. Ellis ( born February 21, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Men of Honor'' (2000), '' The Caveman's Valentine'' (2001), '' Undercover Brother'' (2002), ''Ray'' (2004), '' The Express: The Ern ...

Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That ...

, and

Armie Hammer Armand Douglas Hammer (born August 28, 1986) is an American actor. Hammer began his acting career with guest appearances in several television series. His first leading role was as Billy Graham in the 2008 film '' Billy: The Early Years'', and ...

. She played Nat Turner's wife,

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The n ...

. The film premiered in competition at the

2016 Sundance Film Festival The 2016 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 21 to January 31, 2016. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 2, 2015. The opening night film was ''Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You'', directed by Heidi E ...

on January 25, 2016, and received positive reviews from critics. King's performance was also well received. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' placed her in their list of one of the "Biggest Breakthrough Performances" at Sundance, writing that "King transforms herself from contemporary glamour girl to 19th-century slave in

's festival smash. A harrowing scene late in the film opposite Parker as Nat Turner reveals a depth and range King has never been asked to deliver in her small screen work, and a potential new star is born." King has also been shortlisted as a possible contender for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress but did not receive a nomination. She received a

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. The award was introduced in 1970 and was awarded sporadically until its permanent feature from 1995 onwards. Angela Bassett ...

nomination for her role. She received the "Rising Star Award" at the 10th annual Essence Black Women In Hollywood event in February 2017. In 2017, King appeared opposite

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning se ...

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–20 ...

, and

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

in ''

'', a remake of the 2011 French film ''

The Intouchables ''The Intouchables'' (french: Intouchables, ), also known as ''Untouchable'' in the UK and Ireland, is a 2011 French buddy comedy-drama film written and directed by Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano. It stars François Cluzet and Omar Sy. Nine w ...

''. Later that year, she was cast in the leading role of Somali activist Ifrah Ahmed in the biopic '' A Girl from Mogadishu''. In 2020, she appeared in the drama film ''

Sylvie's Love ''Sylvie's Love'' is a 2020 American romantic drama film, written, directed and produced by Eugene Ashe. The film stars Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi Asomugha, Ryan Michelle Bathe, Regé-Jean Page, Aja Naomi King, and Eva Longoria. ''Sylvie's Love'' h ...

'', opposite

Tessa Thompson Tessa Lynne Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. She began her professional acting career with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica College. She appeared in productions of '' The Tempes ...

and

Nnamdi Asomugha Nnamdi Asomugha ( ; born July 6, 1981) is an American actor, producer and former football cornerback. He played college football for the University of California, Berkeley, and was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Oaklan ...

. King later played a female leading role in the historical drama film ''

The 24th ''The 24th'' is an American historical drama film co-written and directed by Kevin Willmott. The film stars Trai Byers, Bashir Salahuddin, Aja Naomi King, Mo McRae, Tosin Morohunfola, Mykelti Williamson, and Thomas Haden Church. It tells the tru ...

'' about

Houston riot of 1917 The Houston riot of 1917 was a mutiny and riot by 156 soldiers from the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army, taking place on August 23, 1917, in Houston, Texas. The incident occurred within a climate of overt hostility fro ...

directed by Kevin Willmott. King will next star opposite

Michael Shannon Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor, producer, musician, and theater director. He is an off beat actor known for his on-screen versatility, performing in both comedies and dramas. He became known for his frequent ...

in '' Shriver''. She also starred opposite

in his feature directorial debut, ''The Knife''.

Personal life

In March 2021, she announced that she was pregnant after previously experiencing two miscarriages. On June 6, 2021, she announced that she had given birth to a son, Kian, with husband Dan King.

Public image

King was the face of skincare line

Olay Olay, previously Oil of Olay, Oil of Olaz, Oil of Ulan or Oil of Ulay, is an American skin care brand owned by Procter & Gamble. For the 2009 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, Olay accounted for an estimated $2.8 billion of P&G's revenue. Ear ...

's fall 2015 advertising campaign. She became a spokesperson for L'Oreal Paris in 2017. King has graced the covers of numerous magazines, including ''

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...

'', ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'', ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...

'', ''

Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pet ...

'', '' Glamour,

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

,'' ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' and ''

Shape A shape or figure is a graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, texture, or material type. A plane shape or plane figure is constrained to lie ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Aja Naomi 1985 births 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles African-American actresses American film actresses American television actresses Living people People from Walnut, California University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Yale School of Drama alumni 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women